Jetsettersblog

More ‘hassle free’ Eurostar breaks have been introduced by Cosmos Tourama for 2010.

The America, Canada, Europe & Worldwide brochure features coach touring, rail journeys and cruises.

An early booking offer of up to £200 off per couple applies to bookings made before October 18.

A wider choice of tours available with Eurostar travel includes ‘Discover Provence & the French Riviera’, a ‘Majestic Rhine & Moselle’ cruise, ‘Scenic Europe & Bernina Express’ as well as another six itineraries.

Head of product David Binns said: “We have been looking to increase the use of Eurostar because it offers ‘hassle-free’ travel for those of our customers who dislike the security restrictions and length of time involved in flying.

“It’s also a particularly good fit with our river cruises, especially those on the Rhine and Moselle, which we are targeting as a significant growth area for us this year.”

Other new European tours for 2010 include the ‘Italian Showcase’ (15 days from £1,289), the ‘Hidden Treasures of Northern Italy’ (8 days from £869), ‘Delights of Southern Turkey’ (8 days from £695), ‘Charms of Montenegro’ (8 days from £759) and ‘An Icelandic Adventure’ (8 days from £1,195).

Resort holidays to Lake Como, the Tuscan Riviera and Zell am See in Austria are introduced anlong with a five-day day break to Interlaken in Switzerland.

The North American programme includes a 12-day ‘Southern Comfort’ tour from £1,355 featuring New Orleans, Lafayette, Natchez and Baton Rouge.

The London West End’s only official theatre ticket booths are now selling discounted tickets for up to a week before the day of performance.

The tkts booths sell half-price, discounted and full-price tickets for a wide range of performances on the day of the show and now up to seven days in
advance. The booking fee of £3 is included in the advertised price. There is no booking fee for full-price tickets.

The tkts ticket booth is in the Clocktower Building on the south side of Leicester Square. There is a second tkts booth in Brent Cross Shopping Centre in north-west London

Tkts is run by the Society of London Theatre, the trade association representing the producers, theatre-owners and managers of the major commercial and grant aided theatres in central London. The organisation exists to promote theatre-going, develop audiences, and to serve, protect and promote the interests of those engaged in theatre across the capital.

The first ticket booth opened in 1980 in Leicester Square, as the Half Price Ticket Booth. The Society of London Theatre renamed it the tkts Ticket Booth in 2001 to distinguish it from the many unofficial ticket kiosks which had sprung up in the area.

The tkts booths are open Mon–Sat 10am–7pm and Sun noon–3pm. The Brent Cross Shopping Centre booth stays open until 6pm on Sundays.

Website: www.tkts.co.uk

Britain’s newest racecourse has opened near Llanelli, Carmarthen shire in South Wales. The £20-million Ffos Las course has a 2.4-km (11⁄2- mile) National Hunt and flat track. It is the first new racecourse in Britain since the 1920s.

The 242-hectare (600-acre) course will host racing on the flat and over jumps 16 times a year. Fixtures for the rest of 2009 are, 8 November, 23 November and 21 December.

The grandstand also offers conference and banqueting facilities. Ffos Las’s restaurant overlooks the race track and can accommodate up to 150 delegates banquet-style for a seated dinner and up to 500 guests for a reception. It is available all year round for events and conferences.

The course also has eight hospitality boxes that can be used for meetings and private dining, each seating up to 20 delegates boardroom style.

Ffos Las is built on the site of a former open cast mine in West Wales near the villages of Trimsaran and Carway, ten miles west of Llanelli. The site, which means ‘Blue Ditch’ in Welsh, is named after the Ffos Las farm that stood on the site before the mine was opened in 1983.

Admission for meetings will cost between £15 and £17 for adults.

Ffos Las Racecourse
Trimsaran, Carmarthenshire SA17 4DE
Tel: +44 1554 811092
Website: www.ffoslasracecourse.com

The pirate-themed aquarium at the Alton Towers Resort in the Staffordshire Peak District is now available for hire as a business venue.

Sharkbait Reef by Sea Life is not far from the Resort’s hotels. The aquarium holds over 300 species of fish, including sharks, rays and seahorses. It features a 10-metre walk-through Ocean Tank Tunnel that can be used as a dining venue.

Conference packages can include fast-track passes to the theme park for all delegates. The park’s rides include Nemesis (below), which claims to reach G forces greater than a space shuttle launch, and Oblivion, the world’s first vertical-drop ride.

Alton Towers’ business facilities can accommodate meetings for 16 guests, conferences for 700 or dinners for 400 in the Alton Towers Conference Centre. Marquee events for 3,000 are also possible, as is hiring the whole of the Alton Towers Theme Park for 15,000 delegates.

There are two hotels on the site, the 175- bedroom Alton Towers Hotel and the 216-bedroom Splash Landings Hotel which also features an indoor water park. The resort also has a Spa and two 9-hole adventure golf courses.

Alton Towers Theme Park and Conference Centre
Alton, Staffordshire ST10 4DB
Tel: +44 871 222 9934 (corporate bookings)
Website: www.altontowers.com

A new visitor centre and museum opened at Creswell Crags heritage site.

Creswell Crags is a cluster of preserved caves that provided shelter for Neanderthal people between 130,000 and 10,000 years ago.

In 2003 some 13,000-year old cave art was discovered in one of the caves.

Archaeological finds dating back between 10,000 and 50,000 years have also been discovered, including flint and bone tools and carvings, proving that Ice Age hunters visited the site to hunt reindeer and horse.

The new visitor centre displays Ice Age artefacts including locally found pieces and some on loan from the British Museum. The first touring exhibition at the centre will feature an animal rib engraved with a horse’s head. This was discovered at Creswell Crags during the 1870s and was the first example of Ice Age art found in Britain.

Ian Wall, Director of Creswell Heritage Trust, says: ‘It is hugely exciting being able to provide a major attraction for one of Britain’s most important Ice Age sites. The opportunities this new museum will offer to schools, universities, visitors and local communities are immeasurable. The quality of the facilities will allow Creswell Crags to lead the way forward in interpreting this remote part of our history.’

Creswell Crags is open daily March–September and at weekends October–February. Ice Age tour including exhibition £6.50 adults, £5 concessions, £4.50 children. Rock Art including exhibition £8 adults, £7 concessions, £6 children. Ice Age and Rock Art tour including exhibition £13 adults, £11 concessions, £8 children.

Creswell Crags Visitor Centre
Crags Road, Welbeck, Worksop, Nottinghamshire S80 3LH
Tel: +44 1909 720378
Website: www.creswell-crags.org.uk

Alberta, Canada will become home to the new Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) when it opens to the public in January 2010.

Anchoring Sir Winston Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton, the new Art Gallery of Alberta, the oldest cultural institution in the province, will be an 85,000-square-foot building showcasing regional, national and international exhibitions and a center for excellence for the visual arts in Western Canada in the 21st century, expressing the creative spirit of Alberta.

Five years in the making, the new AGA will feature significant increases in exhibition spaces; a dedicated gallery space for its permanent collection of over 6,000 works of art including pieces by Auguste Rodin, Andy Warhol, the Group of Seven, Alex Janvier and various Aboriginal artwork; an expanded education center; as well as a restaurant, gallery shop and 150-seat theater.

The newly constructed gallery was designed by Los Angeles-based Randall Stout Architects, Inc. Constructed primarily of steel, zinc and glass, the structure was inspired by the duality of Edmonton’s urban grid against the curvilinear shapes of the North Saskatchewan River and the prairie sky’s Aurora Borealis. AGA was built with the support of both private donors and all three orders of government.

Leading up to the January 2010 public opening, a series of special programming will be available to visitors surrounding the new Art Gallery of Alberta.

For more information on the new Art Gallery of Alberta, including program dates, visit www.artgalleryalberta.com

Holiday Inn has partnered with Bath & Body Works to launch their Coconut Lime Verbena amenity line at Holiday Inn hotels.

The introduction of this amenity line to the Holiday Inn brand coincides with the changes taking place, as part of the Holiday Inn brand relaunch.

The $1 billion relaunch of Holiday Inn is the largest in the history of the hospitality industry, with more than 3,200 hotels impacted — improving quality and driving consistency at all Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Resort and Holiday Inn Express hotels.

The Holiday Inn brand relaunch focuses on the things research shows matter most to guests — a modern, contemporary hotel with efficient, friendly service and a great night’s sleep.

The relaunch continues to improve quality and drive consistency at relaunched hotels around the world. Unique touches, such as bath amenities, serve to complement and enhance the refreshed products and services which are part of the new brand hallmarks at Holiday Inn hotels.

In turn this will help to drive stronger customer loyalty and a great hotel experience for guests.

Celebrity Cruises introduced Celebrity Select Dining, a new flexible dining option that allows guests to choose when they dine in the main dining room on a day-by-day basis.

The program also includes a pre-cruise, day-by-day flexible dining reservation system. Through this industry-leading technology, Celebrity’s guests can go online to choose their desired dining time — anytime between 6 and 9:30 p.m. — for each day of their cruise, up to four days prior to boarding.

Reservations also can be made onboard with the main dining room’s maitre d’. Pre-cruise reservations are strongly encouraged to ensure the best dining experience. Guests can pre-book their dining times online at www.celebritycruises.com

All dining times are subject to availability, and guests who elect Celebrity Select Dining must pay gratuities. During the booking process, guests will choose either Celebrity Select Dining or traditional dining.

Guests will be accommodated on a first-come, first-served basis. Guests who choose to customize their onboard dining times will have the choice to either dine with only their own traveling companions or with other guests on the cruise, and Celebrity will work to accommodate this choice.

Guests sailing on Celebrity’s newest ship, the 2,850-guest Celebrity Equinox, beginning with the Sept. 26 sailing, will be the first to experience Celebrity Select Dining. Online booking for pre-cruise, day-by-day dining reservations for this sailing opened Aug. 31. Guests who are already booked on Celebrity Equinox departures on or after Sept. 26 can choose to switch to Celebrity Select Dining. The flexible dining program is not available on Celebrity Xpedition. Celebrity Select Dining is available for all other participating ships beginning with the sailing dates noted below and continuing through all cruises currently open for sale.

Celebrity Select Dining’s online day-by-day dining reservations will be available for all participating ships as of Oct. 15, for sailings beginning with those noted below and continuing for at least two months from those sailing dates. They are Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 10; Celebrity Constellation, Jan. 17; Celebrity Century, Jan. 23; Celebrity Millennium, Feb. 1; Celebrity Summit, Feb. 13; Celebrity Mercury, Feb. 15; and Celebrity Infinity, Feb. 28. For sailings not available for booking day-by-day online reservations as of Oct. 15, guests will be able to place their day-by-day reservations no less than 30 days prior to their sail date. Those planning to sail on Celebrity Eclipse, the third ship in the Solstice Class, which will enter service in April, will be able to elect Celebrity Select Dining on a date that will be announced later.

Individuals who elect to take advantage of Celebrity Select Dining before cruising will be required to pay (before cruising) Celebrity’s recommended gratuity amounts for their waiter, assistant waiter, dining room management and stateroom attendants. If guests wish to change from traditional dining to Celebrity Select Dining after they have boarded, they can do so within the first 24 hours of their cruise, on a space-available basis. Guests who choose Celebrity Select Dining while onboard or who are otherwise not eligible to be charged prior to sailing will automatically have gratuities added to their onboard portfolio account. Celebrity Select Dining is subject to availability. Only groups of 20 or less can be seated at one time. Celebrity ships that offer specialty restaurants in addition to the main dining room already offer online pre-cruise reservations that can be made up to four days prior to boarding. Guests who dine in Celebrity’s specialty restaurants are charged a per-person reservation fee.

For more information, visit www.celebritycruises.com/celebrityselectdining

Regent Seven Seas Cruises announced that Canyon Ranch will soon operate the spa, beauty salon, wellness and fitness facilities on its fleet of all-suite ultra-luxury ships.

The Canyon Ranch SpaClub will offer massage, body and skincare treatment rooms, a gym and weight room with cardio and weight training equipment, a juice bar, men’s and women’s locker rooms, thalassotherapy, sauna and steam rooms. Canyon Ranch SpaClub will be installed on each ship in December, with the first cruises featuring the new facility being Dec. 18 for Seven Seas Voyager, Dec. 20 for Seven Seas Mariner, and Dec. 28 for Seven Seas Navigator.

Regent will also feature culinary offerings from Canyon Ranch’s Spa Cuisine, which is both nutritious and created with the highest gourmet standards.

The healthy cuisine will be available starting in spring 2010 at breakfast, lunch and dinner in the ships’ main dining room, Compass Rose, for breakfast and lunch in the more casual La Veranda, at the Pool Grill, and on the 24-hour room service menu.

Canyon Ranch certified fitness instructors will conduct daily group and private fitness, yoga and tai chi classes. In addition, on select voyages Canyon Ranch healthy living experts will offer onboard presentations and workshops addressing lifestyle change, healthy living, stress management and a variety of other topics.

The Canyon Ranch SpaClub Beauty Salon will offer beauty services for women and men.

The salon menu will feature hair design and nail care treatments, including spa manicures and pedicures, makeup consultations and makeovers. The facility will offer rejuvenating treatments, including massages and therapeutic bodywork, mud, aromatherapy, seaweed treatments, facials and masks featuring Canyon Ranch’s Your Transformation products, conditioning body scrubs and therapeutic body cocoons.

Sandals Resorts International has acquired a third property in The Bahamas.

The 500-acre former Four Seasons Resort Great Exuma at Emerald Bay has been bought for an undisclosed sum.

The property shut three months ago and was in the hands of receivers, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

It will be called Sandals Emerald Bay, Great Exuma, Bahamas when it re-opens on January 22, 2010 following the addition of swimming pools and more dining options.

The property already includes a championship 18-hole Greg Norman-designed golf course and a marina.

Sandals founder Butch Stewart said the company was acquiring “one of the most spectacular pieces of real estate in the Caribbean”.

He said he recognised the impact the closure had on the local economy and was anxious to get people back to work.

“We take enormous pride in our Caribbean legacy and specifically, our Jamaican heritage,” said Stewart.

“Through job creation, real training and community involvement, spanning healthcare initiatives to education and the environment, we have worked hard to improve the countries where we operate and in turn, have become a better company and our employees, better citizens. Our commitment to the people of The Bahamas remains strong.”

He added: “We look forward to bringing our Luxury Included experience to this special property, which has been kept to impeccable standards.”

The all-suite resort will offer 190 oceanfront villas and houses which will have butler service.

There will be plus six places to eat including a fine-dining seafood restaurant, an Italian brick-oven pizzeria, a French-style cafe and a British pub with a pool and snooker room.

The property will have three pools including a new half-acre freshwater pool with a Jacuzzi and swim-up bar.

Other facilities include cabanas equipped with wireless internet access, a tennis centre with stadium seating fit for competition; and a spa with 22 indoor treatment areas and six outdoor sanctuaries.